Nepal’s government has turned down offers from several countries to send in their own search-and-rescue teams following Wednesday’s devastating Bhotekoshi floods, saying its own security agencies are capable of handling the operation, even as 517 foreign nationals remain missing, according to a report by The Kathmandu Post.
Instead of personnel, Kathmandu is asking for cash contributions through a single channel, with officials indicating that further financial and other support will be sought once the country moves into the reconstruction phase. Some countries have already pledged funds, while others have signaled willingness to help with rescue, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Scale of the missing
Nepal Police figures put the missing at 178 Indians, 65 Americans, 51 Malaysians, 53 Ukrainians, 33 British nationals, 35 Australians, 25 Canadians, and citizens of roughly three dozen other countries. Chinese officials said at least 100 of their nationals are out of contact, while India’s foreign ministry reported more than 200 Indian nationals seeking evacuation after being trapped by the floods.
Who asked, and why Nepal said no
A senior foreign ministry official said the government had received both official and unofficial requests to deploy foreign search-and-rescue teams — including from India, China, the US, UK, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — but told all of them that Nepal’s own agencies could manage the operation. India’s specific request to send in its National Disaster Response Force was turned down, as was a similar request from China.
The reasoning traces back a decade: Kathmandu is wary of repeating what happened after the 2015 earthquake, when a crowd of foreign rescue teams descended on the country at once and, rather than helping, ended up tangled in turf issues and logistical confusion among themselves. The call to keep this operation Nepal-led was made on the recommendation of the Nepal Army and police.
The foreign ministry has set up an Emergency Response Team as the central coordinating body for search, rescue, information verification and consular assistance for affected foreign nationals, led by an under-secretary who is also coordinating directly from Timure in Rasuwa district with security teams on the ground. Nepal’s diplomatic missions abroad have been instructed to direct any offers of financial support through the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
International response so far
India has sent more than 47.5 tonnes of relief supplies and offered Bailey bridges and prefab truss bridges, with its foreign ministry spokesperson saying Delhi is acting on whatever Nepal requests. The US, UK and World Bank have already announced financial support, and the Asian Development Bank’s president pledged continued help on resilience and early-warning systems. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband spoke by phone with Nepal’s foreign minister to convey British support and ask about the search for missing UK nationals.